Space technology laboratory

Laboratory was founded in 1976, providing R&D activity related to high-precision time measurement and custom designs of application-specific time measurement systems providing the highest precision available at that time. Up to the beginning of 1990s several large-scale R&D projects have been completed, about 40 inventions made and about 250 papers published. Currently Lab staff consists of 13 researchers with various specializations (theory of signal processing, electronic engineering, programming, switching circuit design, etc), including 7 specialists with doctoral degree.

Research in the area of DASP technology in 1990 – 2000th has led to a innovative DSP-based technology for the high-precision event timing. The DSP-based approach developed under the leadership Yury Artyukh not only provides for excellent performance characteristics of event timers but it also leads to almost full replacement of the highly specialized hardware by typical DSP facilities, reducing the hardware implementation cost. A family of Riga Event Timers was developed and made on the basis of this approach. An attractive price-performance ratio makes these instruments quite competitive as compared to the other instruments similar in functionality and quality. These Event Timers are widely used around the world in KHz Satellite Laser Ranging and provide the millimetre ranging accuracy.

In 2011 on the base of Licensee Agreement the rights for manufacturing and distributing of A033-ET are transferred to Eventech Ltd (Latvia). Up to now Eventech has sold more than 60 A033-ET to USA, China, Germany, Finland, England, Austria, Poland, Lithuania, Russia, Korea, Japan. Eventech carries out the market research of application of event timers, not only in Satellite Laser Ranging but also in other fields of science and technology and has found their application in gravimetry, 3D-scan systems, TOF-spectrometry and others.

Accordingly to the current Lab activity, there are three basic R&D directions, each provided by stand-alone scientific group respectively:

Development of innovative technologies for High-precision Event Timing
Development of technology for Digital Alias-free Signal Processing
Development of image processing algorithms and their implementation

Among the common-used facilities, the Lab is well equipped by specialized high-performance instrumentation just for the noted researches. Basically the Lab activity is funded in the framework of national R&D programs. In addition, specific scientific services and products available on contract basis are offered.